The National Catholic Register’s Brianna Heldt recently wrote that it’s “disappointing to see a highly regarded Catholic institution capitulate to the pitchfork-wielding mob” in her story about the University of Notre Dame agreeing to offer insurance plans that cover abortifacients and contraceptives.

“Whether it was the bad press, the plaintive cries of triggered college students, or the threat of litigation, Notre Dame threw its values to the wind on account of ‘the plurality of religious and other convictions among its employees,’” she wrote. “For whatever reason, it would seem that the notion of a Catholic school being a Catholic school is simply no longer acceptable.

“It takes courage to live by one’s convictions,” she continued, “and it is a sad day when even a prestigious Catholic university can be intimidated into sacrificing its identity on the altar of public opinion.”

Apparently Notre Dame values its prestige over its Catholicism.

Fordham theology professor links Christianity to racism

Fordham University has publicized a new book by one of its own professors, which links Christianity to slavery and racism, Campus Reform reports.

She said that while many white Christians are troubled by issues such as the Dakota Access Pipeline and may side with the protesters, “they don’t necessarily see how our Christian patterns over the last several hundred years have created the conditions for those things, so they don’t feel responsible for them.”

Hill Fletcher also asserts that evangelizing about Jesus as the savior of all people is discriminatory. “When a theologian teaches that [belief], he is normalizing that to be human is to be Christian, and to be non-Christian is to be somehow ‘other,’ and that people of other faith traditions might be lesser Americans—maybe even lesser human beings.”

Ontario government sides with Catholic

Ontario Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews’ office admitted that while some might be troubled about a Catholic university’s decision to refuse to show a documentary about a woman who provides illegal abortions to women, she has zero authority to condemn it or change it, according to Global News.

Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, cancelled the scheduled showing of a pro-abortion documentary that was to be shown as part of a film festival on campus. The university said that either a different film be shown, or the festival must find another venue.

That decision predictably ignited a firestorm of criticism with some calling on politicians to condemn the decision.

“Publicly assisted Ontario universities are legally autonomous bodies with full responsibility for both academic and administrative matters, including policies on freedom of speech,” a spokesperson for Matthews said. “The ministry has no authority to intervene in these matters.”

In other words, a Catholic college has the right to be Catholic. Shocking, eh?

Notre Dame students protest Columbus painting

Hundreds of Notre Dame students are protesting paintings of Christopher Columbus with native Americans on campus due to its “highly problematic vision of Western triumphalism, Catholic militarism and an overly romantic notion of American expansion,” according to US News & World Report.

About 450 students, faculty, and staff signed a letter that appeared in the student newspaper, criticizing the placement of 12 murals depicting Columbus, painted by a Vatican portrait artist in the 1880s.

The students call the display Notre Dame’s “own version of a Confederate monument” and allege that the paintings run counter to the Church’s teaching on human dignity.

The university, however, insisted that “the Columbus murals are of historic and artistic value, and the university has no plans to remove them.”

Fairfield honors dissenting staffer

One week before marrying her same-sex partner, Fairfield University honored Carrie Robinson, associate director of Student and Multicultural Affairs, with its annual Lucy Katz “Person of the Year” Award.

The award is prominently featured on the Jesuit university’s website, and given annually by its Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. Robinson took credit for helping to lead the effort to have Fairfield to offer gender-inclusive housing.

Upon receiving the award, Robinson reportedly said, “When it comes to advocating for women’s issues and equality for all, it is important to be a voice for those who are silenced. This is an award I share with everyone who I have stood by as we have advocated for change on campus.”

The Fairfield Mirror also reports that Robinson arranged for two buses of Fairfield students to attend the Women’s March, a pro-abortion rally on Washington.

Boston College hosts Ralph Nader

Boston College recently hosted Ralph Nader, the famed consumer activist and pro-abortion politician, to deliver a lecture on civil disobedience and engagement, according to The Heights.

Nader suggested that civil unrest and civil disobedience is necessary to get government to respond. “To do so only requires 1 percent of the group involved to participate in civil disobedience for public interest,” he argued.

Nader has consistently argued that American women have a “legal right” to safe and affordable abortions.